Humanoid
by Nitroid
Summary: MX-477 GR1MMJ0W is a Humanoid with a heart and an extremely human-like personality. There are only six others like him. Due to a minor slip-up with the order forms, GR1MMJ0W is sent to live with Ichigo, a fiery, headstrong college sophomore.
1. Chapter 1

**Originally a oneshot for Ally, as a birthday fic. I decided to share it over here.**

x

**Enter the building of Nitroid Productions Inc, slide into the elevator and press your finger on button B – 5. As the round button lights up a bright orange hue, try to fight the sudden wave of nausea that overcomes your senses as you feel yourself being whisked down to Basement Five, beneath several layers of the tall, glossy structure founded by Sousuke Aizen, famous computer engineer and part scientist. For those in sneakers, you're in luck. For the unfortunate ones in stilettos . . .**

A dark, deserted hall, littered with rows and rows of ten feet cylinders, filled with a plastic-like membrane that glooped and gurgled as tubes mechanically pumped chemicals through the little holes they were attached to. Every cylinder held one Humanoid captive within its tempered glass, acting as incubators before the machines could be fully programmed and duly retrieved from the membrane that covered them.

At the very end of the long prison-like hall, the dual steel doors slid open to reveal a harried looking black haired man and a taller, more sedate looking brunette. Both wore the uniform white laboratory coats, but somehow on the brunette's shoulders they looked far more formal, dignified, stately even.

"This one." The laboratory assistant turned to his left with a swish of his pristine white lab coat, a look of anticipation plastered on his face, much like the nervous smile he was wearing. "Serial number GR1MMJ0W MX – 477, this could prove to be the best Huma-Com to ever be produced by you, sir."

The man behind the eager-to-please assistant lifted his chin as a knowing smirk graced his handsome features. Despite the smirk, the look on his face could only be described as ice. He shot the assistant a look and one barely perceptible nod.

"Not only the best, but one that could possibly change the future of all Huma-Coms." Sousuke Aizen accepted the oblong-shaped remote from his simpering assistant with a gracious smile. It didn't reach his cold eyes, however.

The steel doors slid open to allow two more men inside. Bright pink hair came into view.

"Ah, Szayel, how long until the information process is finished?" Aizen looked pleased.

"One more day." The pink haired man shrugged on his lab coat, which was specked with brown grease and something that looked vaguely like a bloodstain. "Give or take, maybe four more hours until we can wire him with speech recognition and security software."

Aizen raised an eyebrow at the other man, who seemed to be training his eyes on the Huma-Com in the glass cylinder. "Any reports from the main base I should know about, Shuuhei?"

Shuuhei ran a hand through his spiky black hair. "Six other models have been fully completed and are ready for release into the mass production system, sir. HQ sent me here to check if you would like to release this one with them at the same time."

He gestured to GR1MMJ0W, and the membrane within the cylinder gurgled back at him in response. Aizen drew in a sharp intake of breath, his mind reeling as he weighed the decisions and outcomes he was about to make.

"Yes." Aizen nodded with a smile that bordered on the brink of cold pleasure. "Twenty eight more hours until we release them into the public."

Beside him, Szayel gave a glee-filled snicker.

x

**In another state, down the road, a few right turns and up a dingy apartment building . . .**

Ichigo yawned.

Hanging from the wall above his bed, the red and white plastic clock read 5:05 pm.

Ending his yawn with a well-deserved sigh, Ichigo threw himself face down onto his mattress, accompanied by the squeaking orchestra emitted from the bedsprings. His stomach growled, but he tried his best to ignore it. He felt exhausted, and there was still a huge pile of assignments he had to complete before the weekend arrived. He lacked sleep; the bags under his eyes were puffy and slightly swollen. Thankfully, ice cubes helped wake him up most of the time, if only temporarily – enough to finish his assignments before their deadlines. Working part time at the florist's was even more exhausting, however. Lugging heavy vases and new batches of sand for the plants on display was putting a strain on his back and shoulders.

Still, a job was a job. It paid for the items he needed for education and sometimes even the food on his table. The rent his father took care of, thankfully, which lessened part of the burden.

The orange haired student rolled over onto his back with a heavy sigh. His mini stand-fan blew cool air into his face, rotating to the left and then to the right with soft whirrs. Everything was peaceful, quiet. Ichigo's eyes slowly drifted shut as sleep began to take over his senses.

Something thumped outside his apartment door. There was a distinct sound of a vase breaking, followed by a loud string of curses, and then some embarrassed coughing.

The doorbell rang, echoing throughout Ichigo's single room apartment and disrupting the short-lived peace within.

"Delivery for room 747!"

Yes.

This was what he'd been working his ass off to save up for. It was finally here! Blearily, Ichigo rolled himself off his bed and dragged his feet to the door, wishing he wasn't quite so tired.

"Afternoon, sir! Would you be Kurosaki Ichigo, with order number JQ1577294R?" a short delivery guy dressed in bright green and gray uniform from head to toe chirped enthusiastically.

Like he could even remember his order number.

"Er . . . yeah, that's me."

"Fantastic! Please sign this."

The words on his silver name tag spelled 'Akira.'

"Thanks, Akira-san." Ichigo smiled politely, clicking the pen offered and signing the papers.

Akira beamed. "No problem, just doing my job, sir!"

Next to the tall, human-sized box leaning on a trolley beside him, Akira looked about five times shorter.

Ichigo nodded and handed him the papers. "Okay, so . . . is there anything I should know about this seven month contract?"

"Allow me to explain all the basics, sir!" Akira replied happily. "This Humanoid sample you've ordered has Genius Android software already programmed in its hard drive chip, so there shouldn't be a problem when you first start it up. It's user friendly, there's also a manual provided printed in eighteen different languages should you encounter any difficulties. The first thing your Humanoid should see is you, so it will quickly recognize you as its one and only master. To make things easier, talk to it. Every Humanoid comes with voice recognition software and for safety procedures, please make sure to set your thumbprint in the biometric scanner. You'll find everything in the box, sir. Should there be any trouble, please don't hesitate to contact customer service at this number."

Done with his surprisingly fast rambling, Akira flipped a card out of his uniform pocket and handed it to Ichigo.

"Thanks. Um . . ." Ichigo bit his lip, slightly embarrassed. "Do the Humanoids come with . . . clothes?"

"I'm sorry, sir, clothes are not provided. Besides, just between you and me," Akira leaned in with a wink. "Some owners prefer 'em better naked."

As he took the card, Ichigo tried to fight his blush. "Well, I intend to use mine for study purposes."

"Oh, don't you worry." Akira chuckled, wheeling the trolley past Ichigo, into his apartment. With a quick flip, he'd set the long box down in the middle of his floor. "From what I've heard, all the latest Humanoids come with an almost human-like sex drive, too."

"What?" Ichigo gaped, trying to figure out if he'd heard things wrong.

"All the best with your Humanoid, sir!"

With another wink and a tip of his lime green cap, Akira was out the door, wheeling his now empty trolley before him. Ichigo sighed and shut the door. The delivery man had just been weird. Energetic and polite, but weird. How could a robot have a sex drive? That was just plain creepy. And now he was stuck with another problem – getting clothes for his new robot. He'd placed an order for a female, because they looked pretty cute – and yeah, so he was single and kind of wanted to feel what it would be like to live with a girl, even if she wasn't really real – in the brochure, but now he wondered if it would have been a better option to go with a male instead.

The long white box with 'Nitroid Productions' stamped on it seemed to be mocking his plight. After approximately ten minutes of pure blank staring, Ichigo figured he'd better unpack it before he went to bed and tripped over it in the morning. Anyway, it was taking up more than half his workspace.

The clock read 5:33 pm. There was still an hour or so until he had to make dinner. Ichigo rummaged around in the top drawer of his desk for a blade. Crouching down beside the box, he made a straight cut through the sealed cellophane end. From there, he slid the blade horizontally to make hauling out his Humanoid easier.

The first thing he saw was a year's worth of bubble wrap, with a day's worth of padded foam that had Nitroid Productions stamped all over it in large block font.

There was a paperback wedged in at the side. Ichigo pried it out and squinted at the small print.

The delivery guy was right – it did come with a manual, but everything seemed to be in Spanish, Mandarin, German, Finnish and Czech. There wasn't even an English version. Well, maybe he'd skimmed it too quickly. Impatiently flipping through once more to find the Japanese version, Ichigo spotted a small square box under the Humanoid's bubble wrapped legs. Curious, he pulled it out and opened it. There was an instruction leaflet in it, with a biometric scanner in a shiny new glass case.

"Activate Humanoid before activating thumbprint scanner." Ichigo mumbled as he read off the given leaflet. "I would if I could. How do I activate my Humanoid?"

Amid the carefully arranged piles of bubble wrap, Ichigo touched what seemed like skin. It was smooth, and a little hard. And it was warm, like human temperature warm. Nitroid's technology could not get anymore amazing. Tugging his Humanoid from the white box, Ichigo used the blade to slice through the cellophane bits holding the bubble wrap in place. He pushed away all the plastic, eager to see what his soon-to-be homework partner would look like.

"I probably seem like some freaking pervert." He grinned at himself as he tore the last of the bubble wrap away and packed it back into the box.

Honey brown eyes took in a flat wide chest with broad shoulders, toned abdominal muscles and fair skin. Ichigo felt his mouth drop open in a mixture of surprise and shock. Partially enclosed in a membrane-like plastic – not unlike cling wrap – was a naked male Humanoid, eyes closed like he was asleep. Ichigo felt his heart plummet down somewhere below his knees.

Whoa.

"I thought I ordered a female."

In the fitted membrane wrap, right above his navel, lay a little remote about the size of a small smartphone. Ichigo tried not to look anywhere below his Humanoid's navel – it was kind of hard not to, but he managed anyway - and clicked the soft green button that had the words ACTIVATE in white capitals on it.

There was a beep from the remote, and a quiet click from the Humanoid. Ichigo chewed his lower lip in half excited anticipation.

His cellphone rang, blaring out a tinny version of his favorite song. Scrambling to his feet, the orange haired teen raced for his bed, where he'd left his phone.

"Hello?"

Behind him, his Humanoid was already getting to his feet, discarding the last of the bubble wrap to reveal himself in all his naked glory.

"Yeah, that won't be a problem. Sure, a few extra hours won't kill me, don't worry. Alright, bye."

Ichigo slid his phone shut and turned around, chewing over his schedule worriedly. "More work at the florist's. Got to get there by three p.m. tomorrow afternoon . . ."

He trailed off as something moving before him caught his full attention.

Light blue hair, piercing blue eyes, a ripped body, and a nice package screamed at Ichigo that he'd gotten himself a real deal. It was a little weird to be having that sort of thought about another guy – but well, it was just kind of cool to have a Greek god living in his apartment.

Wait.

What was he thinking?

"I should totally slap myself right now." Ichigo chided, trying to push all his dirty thoughts away into the darkest corner of his brain.

"Why?" The Humanoid spoke in a low almost-growl, sending tingles down Ichigo's spine.

"You can talk! Wait, of course you can. Um . . . I mean . . . nothing, forget what I said." He scrambled for the manual. "Uh, let's see. You've got to have a name, or something, right? Are there anymore safety procedures I'm supposed to take care of?"

The Humanoid just stood and watched him silently, expectantly.

"Anyway, I'm Ichigo." Ichigo offered him a half-smile.

Still nothing.

The teen tried again. "I just got you today. You're my Humanoid."

"I don't belong to anyone." He fixed Ichigo with a hostile glare.

Wow.

Okay, so he'd gotten himself an aggressive, unreceptive Humanoid who clearly had an egotistical side to him. Well, good thing he'd learned to embrace changes since his high school days.

The teen put his hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. "Okay, chill. You can be my homework buddy. How does that sound?"

"Sound?"

Ichigo sighed and shook his head, trying to think of what to do next. His honey brown eyes traveled from the Humanoid's torso to his hips, and then down below.

Nice.

So they made them big, too. Ichigo felt his mouth run dry, and cleared his throat to speak. He was going to go nuts if he didn't pull his eyes away from the guy. Humanoid. Machine. He had to keep reminding himself that the thing standing before him was a robot.

"Right, first things first, let's get you some clothes. And . . . what are you called again?"

"MX – 477 GR1MMJ0W." He answered.

Grimacing, Ichigo shook his head. "No way am I gonna be calling you that while you're staying with me. You look Caucasian. What do you say to the name Seth?"

The blue haired Humanoid stood in all his naked glory, shooting icy daggers with his eyes. Ichigo sighed.

"I guess not. So . . . what about Takashi? It's a nice name." The teen gave his new study-partner an eager grin.

He received a blank stare in reply. Well, so much for responsiveness. Still, he wasn't about to give up so easily. Reading the sticker tag stuck onto the Humanoid's arm, Ichigo shot him a grin.

"How does Grimmjow sound?"

His Humanoid smirked.

Ichigo blinked. "It _does_ fit you. So, are you happy with it?"

"Voice recognition complete." The Humanoid said. "Activate biometric thumbprint for safety purposes."

Ichigo took that as a yes.

"Great. Now you're telling me what to do." Sticking his tongue out at Grimmjow, the teen reached for the small scanner. "Okay, should I just place my thumb in it or what?"

Another blank stare. Ichigo had a distinct feeling he was being messed with – subtly. He rummaged around the floor near his bed and lifted out the largest T-shirt he owned. Grimmjow looked about two or three sizes bigger than he was.

"Here, wear this while I figure it out."

Grimmjow allowed the white shirt tossed his way to hit his chest and flop to the floor. The scanner beeped twice and Ichigo pressed his thumb into the slot.

"Why aren't you putting it on?"

"Cotton shirt; ninety five percent cotton, five percent polyester. Colour; white. Made in Japan. Average number of times worn, calculating."

Ichigo leapt to his feet. "Okay, now that's just creepy. Stop it."

Grimmjow complied and stood there silently, watching him intently, obediently.

"Look," Ichigo sighed, placing the scanner on a table. "That delivery guy pretty much gave me a half-assed explanation about handling you, and the manual's in . . . it's just unreadable. I'm just not used to having a human-like robot around, so bear with me, okay?"

Ichigo would have liked to think that the look Grimmjow sent him was one of silent agreement. Though, with those piercing blue eyes, he couldn't tell.

"Now could you put on the shirt, please?"

Grimmjow just stared at it in silence, then looked back up at him with a blank expression.

"Maybe I should just return you."

Grimmjow frowned. "Why?"

"Because . . ."

Maybe telling a robot the truth would be a piece of cake to some people, but Ichigo felt otherwise. he was fairly certain he was interacting with a machine, but he didn't like to make a habit of blurting things out - especially not things he knew would hurt real people. Even calling a robot a broken machine to its face struck the guilt chord in Ichigo. He just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I was kidding. That was a joke."

Grimmjow gave him a slow nod. "A joke - something said or done to evoke amusement; a mischievous trick or a prank. Word definition complete."

Shaking his head with disbelief, Ichigo sighed. He figured all Humanoids came with built-in communication and interaction software, but maybe his was just, well, defunct. Still, there was a possibility that Grimmjow was one of the latest models and had yet to update on all these much-needed everyday processes.

Watching Grimmjow watch him vacantly, Ichigo bit on his lower lip contemplatively.

"Looks like there's a lot of stuff I'll have to teach you."

x

**I'd kill for a Humanoid Grimmjow. ;) Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please read this.**

**Here's a thank you shout out to LesGemeaux for informing me of a story with a few similarities to mine. The title is 'Sexoid' by Blackice24. I don't mean to plagiarize in any way. In all honesty I had no clue someone else had written a story with the same theme, nor have I read Blackice's story lol. I wrote Humanoid as an eighteen page long oneshot for my bestie Ally, who was in dire need of cheering up on her birthday. Should anyone request that this story be taken down, I'll discontinue it and focus on my other fics.**

x

There was a loud blare of music, complete with the clashing of drums and a sick guitar riff. Ichigo groaned, trying to turn his head away from the source of sound without much success. Something was tickling the hair on his forehead, and something else was tracing lines and circles up and down his chest and stomach.

"Fucking alarm." Ichigo muttered, still adamant about keeping his eyes closed.

Something massaged his shoulder lightly, then pressed a kiss to his arm. Ichigo sighed, realizing his blanket had gone missing for quite some time. He snuggled closer to the warm body in his bed, breathing in an unfamiliar scent that tickled his senses.

For a moment he teetered on the brink of sleep and consciousness.

Then he took a flying leap out of his side of the bed.

"What the hell?"

The blanket wound itself round his ankle, bringing him down to the cold floor with a crash and a thump. Ichigo swore as he felt the back of his head throb from where it collided with the hard surface. He looked up with bleary eyes to see his Humanoid sitting upright on his bed, a curious look on his face.

"Bastard." Ichigo hissed at him.

Grimmjow smirked. "Good morning, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rolling himself over so he could kneel and slowly stand, Ichigo shook his head, still pissed at his Humanoid. "Quit touching me when I'm asleep, who the hell do you think I am?"

"My owner and master, birth name Kurosaki Ichigo, born July fifteenth, five feet eleven inches in height, one hundred and forty five pounds in weight, gender male, hair color orange, eye color hazel, shoulder width –"

"Stop!" Ichigo held out both hands in surrender. "Alright, I get it, you know who I am. Now stop my alarm."

The music faded to silence as Grimmjow twisted the rotary dial that seemed to float in midair above Ichigo's bed. Sighing, the teen stood up and tugged up his pajama pants, noting the drawstring had been loosened considerably. He shot his Humanoid a suspicious glare and received another infuriating smirk in return.

"What did you think you were doing to me?"

Grimmjow looked at him quizzically. He seemed to have gained more emotion since yesterday.

"I mean, touching me all over like that . . ." Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the blue haired man. "Like I was some kind of meat, like you could just run your hands over me when my defenses were down."

"I was feeling." Grimmjow replied, his answer in all its simplicity giving Ichigo the start of one of the most badass headaches in history.

"I got that part, alright. What were you trying to feel?" He ran a hand through his orange spikes, feeling grumpy and frustrated.

"You."

Stunned into silence by his Humanoid's answer, Ichigo bit his lip and walked away, heading for the bathroom so he could splash cold water onto his face and usher in a new day without feeling like his brain had just been through a blender. How could his Humanoid just start to molest him unless he was triggered by something sexual? Were they all programmed with that? Ichigo put his hands into the sink and let the motion sensors turn on the water for him. Well, the delivery guy did warn him about their sex drives. He supposed he would have to ask Renji about them, or maybe run up a search on this topic. Swallowing, he looked down at his manhood, which was busy showing itself despite being constricted by his pants. Ichigo shut his eyes and tried to think clearly.

He remembered watching a movie the night before on his Nitro-screen – a bright blue plasma screen that projected images and videos on a clear piece of wall, one of the marvelous high-tech gadgets that soon took the place of large plasma TVs and tablets by storm – and smacked his own forehead. It had been one of Renji's cliché romance dramas, something his best friend had accidentally left over at his place when he stayed the night a few times before. Ichigo now had a small collection that he kept in a box and a few plastic bags, though he never really got round to giving them back.

His morning wood successfully toned down, Ichigo sped out of the bathroom with toothbrush in hand. Growling at Grimmjow, Ichigo reached for his phone. It beeped meekly as he punched in the lock code and speed dialed Renji's number.

"'lo?" Renji sounded half-asleep.

"You need to take back all your stuff! He's been riffling through it ever since I taught him how to work the Nitro-screen and now he's practicing those annoying cliché love techniques on me!"

There was a soft snore from the other end of the line. Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"Renji!"

"Speaking." His friend yawned loudly into the earpiece. "Dude, y'know it's too early to wake up."

"That's because you live six minutes away from the university. Some people have to walk a few blocks."

"Point." Renji sighed. "Bring him with you today then. He can meet my Huma-Com too. Maybe they'll get along well."

Ichigo frowned. "What d'you mean maybe? And when are you gonna take your stuff back before he does anymore brain damage to me?"

A chuckle, followed by a soft moan that didn't sound like it came from Renji. Ichigo glared at his phone in surprised disgust.

"Is that your Huma-Com?"

Renji chuckled again. "Nah, she's better than any Huma-Com, Ichigo."

Blushing a deep crimson, Ichigo wished he hadn't pried. Another girl for another stand. Renji flipped through girls the way girls flipped through clothing racks in a department store. He muttered a goodbye and quickly hung up as a giggle could be heard, then the creaking of a mattress.

"Renji." Grimmjow said from the bed, watching him with a blank stare. "Who is that?"

"My best friend." Ichigo replied instantaneously. "He owns those romance videos you watched last night. Thank god he doesn't leave his precious porn collection here, or something else would've happened that I really don't want to happen. I mean, I would seriously make him make it up to me."

Grimmjow watched him with a puzzled expression. "Kurosaki Ichigo makes porn with his best friend Renji?"

For the second time that morning, Ichigo hit his head against a hard surface.

x

Ichigo tugged the shirt on Grimmjow down a little more to cover his jean-clad butt. Luckily he had a pair of jeans that fit Grimmjow just fine. Still, getting his Humanoid more clothes was definitely on his next shopping list.

"Okay, this way."

They walked down the busy street, weaving their way through the crowds of people who were hurrying to school, work, and going about on their daily routine. Mothers held on to their children's hands tightly, joggers slowed to a brisk walk as they avoided bumping into others, students chattered and laughed as they shifted the weight of their backpacks, businessmen looked at their plasma watches and nattered into smartphones or earpieces. Overhead, a large rotating ball made entirely of synthetic fibers hovered, displaying the time, date, temperature reading and weather report. Drifts and hybrid cars made no noise save for a soft, almost imperceptible whirring as they used energy fueled by solar power.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Grimmjow said. "Where is Kurosaki Ichigo taking me?"

"Stop calling me that." Ichigo muttered. In a louder voice, he said "Call me Ichigo. It's okay to call me 'you' too. Like 'where are you taking me?' Clear?"

Grimmjow nodded.

"Now repeat that."

"Clear."

"No, I mean, repeat 'where are you taking me?'"

"Where are you taking me?"

Ichigo gave Grimmjow a smile, nodding at him. "Good! That's not as bad as I thought."

Grimmjow followed his owner with a confused look. They made their way past a few blocks, headed toward a large building with a tall signature N on the side of its elegant structure.

"The N stands for Nitro-U. Most of us call it N-U for short. The founder is Sosuke Aizen, the same man who probably made you." Ichigo smiled as he noticed Grimmjow's quizzical stare. "Does that ring a bell?"

"Bell?"

"Nevermind." Ichigo chuckled, taking Grimmjow's arm and leading him up the steps and into the building. "I got here on a scholarship, which Nitroid Productions helps sponsor for a great number of the students in this faculty. Those with true potential that is. I hear the ones in computer engineering and medical science are interviewed and hand picked by Sosuke-san himself."

He didn't notice Grimmjow's eyes change from a bright cerulean to a dark blue, then back again. It happened within the span of two seconds. The name Sosuke Aizen triggered something deep within his Humanoid. Unfortunately, it went unnoticed.

"Don't touch anything, okay?" Ichigo warned, depositing Grimmjow into the back of the lift.

"Okay."

He pressed number three on the menu of buttons, and they were whisked up to the third floor. Stepping out, he turned around and held out a hand for Grimmjow to take.

"Here's the library section, where we can meet with Renji. He said something about sitting right at the back, in the occult studies section. No one ever goes there." Ichigo sighed. "I'm gonna have trouble finding it."

They entered a large, fully air-conditioned library, feet making no noise on the plush carpeted floor. Several students spoke in low tones as they discussed assignments at a large oblong table to the right. Ichigo glanced over at the 'borrow' and 'return' tables, but no librarians were to be seen. Well, it was still very early; most of them were probably on their way to the U, either that or they were having breakfast down in the cafeteria. He knew better than to ask the cocky-looking, nerdy students in deep discussion, and so vowed to find the Occult section on his own.

"Books." Grimmjow said softly, following Ichigo obediently as he walked past each shelf slowly, checking the labels on the sides of the tall racks for their contents.

"Yep." Ichigo continued his search. "Right at the back, he said. So I guess, the letter O? Occult Sciences. Or should that be OS?"

Grimmjow followed behind silently, watching his owner intently. When it became clear Ichigo was not going to be able to find Renji, he flipped out his smartphone and called his number.

No answer.

"Damn. He must have it on silent mode. Probably left it in class or something, too."

Grimmjow continued to watch Ichigo, like he was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Technically, he was. No one could walk, mumble, and redial Renji's number like he could.

"What are we doing, Ichigo?"

At his Humanoid's request, Ichigo turned around and handed him his phone. "Keep this for me. I just sent him twenty five missed calls. He'll probably laugh his head off about it later."

Grimmjow stared at the phone in horror. "When can he get it back?"

Ichigo frowned. "What?"

"His head."

Shoulders falling as ninety nine percent of his spirit deflated, Ichigo shook his head. "Forget what I said about you not being too bad. You're slower than a snail. I'm starting to think I really should give you back and ask for a refund."

Grimmjow hands on his shoulders startled Ichigo, making him look up into alarmed blue eyes.

"Don't."

Whatever was making his Humanoid all jacked up like that made Ichigo wonder how badly the factory Grimmjow had been manufactured in treated him. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ichigo stepped away from his Humanoid, slapping Grimmjow's hands from his shoulders.

"Don't touch me."

Grimmjow's sad blue eyes watching him made his insides quiver and melt with the large amount of guilt welling up within. He looked so human, so vulnerable like that; it was almost hard to believe he had been programmed to act that way. Ichigo dropped his gaze and avoided all eye contact as he tried to console himself that that was what this all was – a program, and a working robot carrying out its functions. Still, why did they have to make him so human-like?

"Sorry." Ichigo muttered as he half-turned toward his Humanoid, still avoiding his gaze. "Come on. Let's look for the Occult section together, okay?"

Grimmjow muttered his assent and followed after him, the sad look leaving his face, to be replaced with a blank expression.

"Help me look for Occult Sciences." Ichigo said to him. "Or better yet, just Renji. Flaming red hair in a ponytail or bandanna, permanent excitement written all over his face."

Grimmjow's eyes roved the library, scanning through the shelves with his almost x-ray like vision. "Thirteen shelves down, fifth row, to the right corner."

Ichigo stared at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Grimmjow tilted his head to the side.

Renji was found leaning against a shelf, sleeping with his mouth open as he nonchalantly ignored the pained creaking of the light shelf supporting his weight. Ichigo deflated again at the sight of his best friend vandalizing school property with his drool flooding several book pages.

"Wake up!" He punched Renji in the gut. "What is your problem? Couldn't you have asked me to meet you somewhere easier, like the courtyard or cafeteria? Even the gym bleachers wouldn't be half bad!"

Coughing as he doubled over, Renji wiped the drool off with the sleeve of his black hoodie. Grunting as he staggered backwards, he lifted one foot and kicked his rambling orange haired friend in the side. As Ichigo clutched his stomach in pain, Grimmjow stepped forward, a look of menacing hostility clearly splashed on his face.

"Don't touch Ichigo." He growled out, swinging one fist out with lightning speed.

A hand stopped him just before he could goal his fist into Renji's jaw. Brown hair and steel gray eyes came into view and a low, deep voice spoke in a lazy drawl.

"Don't touch Renji."

There was a moment of awkward silence, coupled with aggressive tension rolling off Grimmjow in tangible waves. The other person stood between Ichigo's Humanoid and Renji, wearing a look of quiet calm and a white fur coat.

"He's mine!" Grimmjow snarled, baring his teeth in the most feral-like way.

"I could say the same for Renji." The brunette decked in the fur coat turned away to yawn into the bookshelf. "Do you wish to fight me?"

Quickly, the redhead stepped in to ease off both males. "Okay, time out. No fighting, you hear me? Stark, this is Ichigo, I think you guys may have met before, but I doubt Ichigo realizes due to a certain memory shortage in his brain."

Ichigo reached out and smacked Renji on the side of the head. "Shut up. Meet Grimmjow. He's uh, usually not this aggressive."

"Relax, Ichigo." Renji chuckled as Stark held onto his shoulders with a worried look. "Stark's my Huma-Com. I got him about a year ago, but this is his first time in N-U with me."

"Nice." Ichigo grinned, prying Grimmjow's fingers from Stark's fur coat. "Stop that, Grimmjow. These guys are good. Okay? No fighting."

"Possessive, isn't he?" Renji let out a low whistle. "Though when you said you were gonna get a Huma-Com, I thought you mentioned something about a female."

Ichigo blew out his cheeks exasperatedly. "Yeah, that's what I thought I ordered, too. But he just came by delivery yesterday, and I just went ahead with the ownership rights. I figured living with a male autobot seems way better than a female one. Less um, hassle and stuff."

Renji raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Dude, they're machinery. Smart machinery, but metal, plastic and computer programs nonetheless. Everyone does it. No hassle at all."

"Easy for you to say." Ichigo smirked at his friend. "I don't think I could bring myself to buy girl clothing if I had a female Humanoid. With Grimmjow, everything's a whole lot easier."

"Videos." Grimmjow reminded quietly, flicking his blue-eyed gaze from Renji to Ichigo. "Romance dramas."

"Right!" Ichigo punched him lightly on the arm. "You're amazing."

Handing Renji a large plastic bag filled with his dramas, Ichigo continued to tell his friend about the day's procedures. Meanwhile, Grimmjow watched Stark with an unfriendly stare. The brunette stepped up toward him and stuck out a hand.

"Stark."

After a moment, Grimmjow shook his hand. "Grimmjow."

"You have a unique name."

"I could say the same for you."

Gray eyes narrowed as Stark checked the other Humanoid out. "You seem new."

"No less amateurish than you."

"Must you challenge everything?"

Grimmjow smirked that infuriating smirk. "Maybe."

To his surprise, Stark smiled back. "You're certainly interesting."

x

"Status report on all Nitroids." Pushing back a lock of stray hair from his face, Szayel waved a clipboard full of notes and diagrams at his boss.

Aizen leaned back in his leather office chair, enjoying the feel of one of his many Huma-Coms massaging his shoulders. "Proceed."

Szayel crossed his legs on the elegant tan leather couch before Aizen, smirking impishly. "Nitroid One; GR1MMJ0W has found a male master by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo. Brain readings state he is in the process of learning anything and everything. Think in terms of a large, highly absorbent sponge that never tires. We recently discovered a surprising spike in his hormone level. His owner must be exposing him to a lot of things very quickly. Truly, your creations are works of brilliance, sir."

Aizen accepted the compliment with a gracious smile. "And what of the rest?"

"Nitroid Two; NN01TR4 is currently being fully monitored by me. I am setting him up with the best of Genius Android software, and testing his programming security with malware probes and viruses. Should he be able to withstand all of the strongest viruses you have created, sir – suffice to say he will prove to be the crème de la crème of all Nitroids."

Nodding with satisfaction, Aizen waved two fingers for his assistant to continue.

"Nitroid Three; BY4KUY4 has recently been ordered by a female under the name of Sawada, but has been wrapped in a gift box, presumably for someone else. Full ownership will be traced later on when he has been activated. Nitroid Four; H4L1B3Lhas not been purchased as of yet. We will be informed if anyone orders her. Nitroid Five; T05H1R0 has been purchased by a male owner barely two hours ago. Owner goes by the name of Cavallone Dino, a rare name in Japan, though sources say he may be Italian. That is all we were able to find out. We have received signs he has been activated and is now in the learning process. Further monitoring shall commence under Hisagi-san's supervision."

Szayel paused to take a sip from the floating glass of sparkling water beside him. "Nitroid Six; K1R4, has been ordered by a male owner, Orihara Izaya, an infamous informant residing in Ikebukuro. However, status shows he has not been activated as of yet. Perhaps he will be by tonight, give or take the time his owner gets him back home. Lastly, Nitroid Seven; ULQU10RR4, has been purchased by a notorious member of the yakuza, Hibari Kyouya."

Aizen frowned. "Yakuza, hm."

"Should any concerning matters pertain to any number of our Nitroids, we will be informed immediately via their alarm systems. Shall we proceed with the setting up of watchtowers, sir?"

Taking a long drink from his glass of red wine, Aizen touched the hand of his Humanoid lightly so it ceased massaging, and took his glass away for a refill. "Find any intel you can on all of my Nitroids' owners. If possible, in full. Continue with the monitoring, Szayel. Thank you, that will be all."

As his pink haired laboratory assistant skipped away gleefully, Aizen sank back into his chair with a growing smile of eerie triumph sculpting his lips.

Nitroid Productions would expand under his administration and command. He would oversee everything personally, and gauge reactions from the human owners of his seven Nitroids, the special Humanoids sent out into the mass public. Should the responses be positive, he would rule over everything – schools, electronics, communication – and grow in power. The world would bow on its knees for him, Sosuke Aizen, and the one country he would start with would be his own: Japan.

x

"So how did you find Renji?" Ichigo asked Grimmjow as they made their way into the subway station.

"Laser search." Grimmjow replied truthfully.

Ichigo stared. "No, I meant, like how do you like my best friend, but yeah, that's pretty cool too."

"Oh." Grimmjow replied simply, and ran a hand through his blue hair the way he's seen Ichigo do it. "He is cool."

Somehow hearing the modern word spill from his Humanoid's mouth made Ichigo crack up. He continued chuckling even as they boarded the train.

"What is so funny?"

"You!" Ichigo laughed. "The way you say stuff; it's cute. And unique. Nothing wrong with it, but still, no one would expect to hear you talk like that. Like you were pulled out of one of Renji's shows."

"Romance dramas." Grimmjow corrected sternly, then smiled. "Then maybe you could teach me, Ichigo."

Several women nearby and a bunch of schoolgirls swooned under the dazzling beam of the blue haired Humanoid. Ichigo himself had to blink a few times to get rid of the stars in his eyes. Grimmjow rarely smiled, but when he did, he looked gorgeous, genuine.

"I – I guess I could, sure." Ichigo nodded and looked away with a light blush tinting his cheeks. "Who else better to learn from but your owner, right?"

"Right." Grimmjow did the smile again as the train slowed down at their stop. "You're the best, Ichigo."

Meeting Grimmjow's earnest blue eyed gaze, Ichigo couldn't resist smiling back. Who knew Huma-Coms could be so realistic? He certainly hadn't. Standing up, he staggered and lost his balance as their ride lurched to a halt. He pitched forward, dropping a few books from his backpack. Strong hands steadied his shoulders, and a warm mouth met his by accident.

Eyes widening, Ichigo tried to place his hands on Grimmjow's chest to push him away, but a feeling of calm warmness flooded all of his senses, sending him into a sedate mode. He felt like he'd been hit by a tranquilizer dart. Grimmjow coaxed his lips apart easily with his tongue, and delved into the warm cavern of Ichigo's mouth.

The train doors eased to a close behind them, but went unnoticed as both humanoid and owner continued to stay caught in lip lock.

There was no rush. After all, it would be a long ride till they would get back to their destination.

x

**Cliché! I don't like this chapter. But on the bright side, Byakuya's a Humanoid!**


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